Cutting tooth assembly with reversible tooth

ABSTRACT

A cutting tooth assembly for a rotary cutting machine is described. The assembly includes a tooth holder adapted for mounting about the periphery of a rotating element of the rotary cutting machine, and a reversible cutting tooth, removably mounted to said tooth holder. The cutting tooth has opposed first and second cutting faces which are spaced apart along a central tooth axis extending therebetween. Each of the first and second cutting faces at least partially defines more than two cutting edges, and the cutting tooth is reversible by 180 degrees about a transverse tooth axis to dispose a selected one of the first and second cutting faces in an operable cutting position when mounted to the tooth holder.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/560,582 filed Nov. 16, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,713,006which claims priority on U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.60/736,832 filed Nov. 16, 2005, the entire specification of each ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to a cutting tooth assembly fora rotary cutting machine, and particularly to a cutting tooth assemblyhaving a cutting tooth with a plurality of cutting edges and which isdetachable from a corresponding tooth holder. In addition, the tooth isconfigured and disposed so as to be reversible.

BACKGROUND

Circular saws, particularly relatively large ones, are used in variousapplications which include, but are not limited to, felling trees andother natural plant growth in the forestry industry, cutting rock and/orearth in the mining and construction industries, cutting up items suchas used tires and other man-made products in various industrialapplications, and in agriculture. Relatively smaller circular saws arefurther used in countless other smaller-scale applications, from homerenovation to commercial construction. Depending on the type of circularsaw, the central disk of the saw either rotates (for the smallercircular saws) or remains rotationally fixed but has teeth on linkedholders which rotate about the periphery of the saw disk, much as perchain saws.

Regardless of the type of circular saw, a plurality of such cuttingteeth rotate, whether independently about the periphery of therotationally-stationary disk or together with the rotating disk whenfixed thereto, in order to cut into the workpiece material to be cut.

Particularly with known saw teeth used on large circular saws, such asthose used for felling trees or cutting through large volumes ofman-made materials, each saw tooth may be removable from its associatedholder and typically includes at least several separate cutting edgesthereon. Thus, when one cutting edge wears or becomes damaged and thusunsuitable for cutting, i.e. optimum cutting, the tooth in question canbe removed from the holder and replaced back in place thereon with adifferent cutting edge in position for contacting the workpiece. Onceall the cutting edges on any saw tooth have been used, the tooth can beremoved from the holder and either replaced with a new tooth or repairedand/or sharpened and replaced back in position.

Some such removable saw teeth and their associated holders are describedin the following U.S. Patents, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference: U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,199 issued on Apr.27, 1993, U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,752 issued on Apr. 19, 1994, U.S. Pat. No.5,307,719 issued on May 3, 1994 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,965 issued onJul. 8, 1997, all to Charles D. MacLennan. Typically, such saw teethinclude up to four cutting edges on a front face of the tooth, and havea flat rear face, opposite said front face, which abuts with acorresponding surface on the holder against which the tooth is fastenedin engagement.

However, while such removable saw teeth for circular saws permitimproved tooth life span in comparison with fixed (i.e. non-removable ornon-rotatable) teeth, improvement is nonetheless desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved sawtooth for a rotary cutting machine.

Therefore, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention, thereis provided a cutting tooth assembly for a rotary cutting machine, thecutting tooth assembly comprising: a tooth holder adapted for mountingabout the periphery of a rotating element of the rotary cutting machine;and a reversible cutting tooth, removably mounted to said tooth holder,said cutting tooth having opposed first and second cutting facesrespectively disposed on oppositely facing front and rear sides of thetooth, the first and second cutting faces being spaced apart along acentral tooth axis extending between the first and second cutting faceson the front and rear sides, each of said first and second cutting facesat least partially defining more than two cutting edges, said cuttingtooth being reversible by 180 degrees about a transverse tooth axis,transverse to the central tooth axis, to thereby dispose a selected oneof said first and second cutting faces in an operable cutting positionwhen mounted to said tooth holder.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a cutting tooth assembly for a rotary cutting machine,comprising: a cutting tooth removably fastenable to a tooth holder of arotary cutting machine and an adapter for mounting intermediatelybetween said cutting tooth and said tooth holder, said cutting toothhaving opposed first and second cutting faces respectively disposed onoppositely facing front and rear sides of the cutting tooth, the firstand second cutting faces being spaced apart along a central tooth axisextending between the first and second cutting faces on the front andrear sides, each of said first and second cutting faces at leastpartially defining more than two cutting edges, said cutting tooth beingreversible by 180 degrees about a transverse tooth axis to therebydispose a selected one of said first and second cutting faces in anoperable cutting position when mounted to said tooth holder.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a cutting tooth assembly for a rotary cutting machinecomprising: a tooth holder for mounting on the periphery of a circularrotating element of the rotary cutting machine, the tooth holder havinga longitudinal axis extending substantially tangential to the peripheryof the circular rotating element when the tooth holder is mountedthereon; a reversible cutting tooth, removably mounted to said toothholder, the cutting tooth having opposed first and second cutting facesrespectively disposed on oppositely facing front and rear sides of thecutting tooth, the first and second cutting faces being spaced apartalong a central tooth axis extending between the first and secondcutting faces on the front and rear sides, each of said first and secondcutting faces at least partially defining more than two cutting edges,said cutting tooth being reversible by 180 degrees about a transversetooth axis to thereby dispose a selected one of said first and secondcutting faces in an operable cutting position when mounted to said toothholder; and the tooth holder including a seat for receiving thereversible cutting tooth, wherein the central axis of the cutting toothis disposed at an angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the holder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description, taken in combinationwith the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a saw tooth assembly in accordance withone aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the saw tooth assembly of FIG. 1,shown mounted on a disk of a rotary cutting machine;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a saw tooth of the saw tooth assembly ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 a is a cross-sectional view of the saw tooth of FIG. 3, takenthrough line 4-4 thereof;

FIG. 4 b is a front elevation view of an alternate embodiment of the sawtooth of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an adapter of the saw tooth assembly ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a saw tooth assembly in accordance withanother aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a saw tooth of the saw tooth assembly ofFIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the saw tooth of FIG. 7, takenthrough line 8-8 thereof;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an adapter of the saw tooth assembly ofFIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a saw tooth in accordance with anotheraspect of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an adapted for use with the saw toothof FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a saw tooth in accordance with analternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12A is a side elevation view of a variant of the saw tooth of FIG.12;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a saw tooth in accordance with analternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a saw tooth in accordance with analternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a front elevation view of a saw tooth in accordance with analternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a front elevation view of a saw tooth in accordance with analternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a saw tooth holder in accordance withan alternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a saw tooth holder in accordance withan alternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a partially sectioned, side elevation view of a saw toothassembly in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a saw tooth in accordance with analternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 20A is a cross-sectional view of the saw tooth of FIG. 20;

FIG. 21 is a side elevation view of a saw tooth assembly in accordancewith an alternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 22 is a partially exploded side elevation view of a saw toothassembly in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 23 is a side elevation view of a saw tooth assembly in accordancewith an alternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of a saw tooth holder in accordance withan alternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 25 is a perspective view of a saw tooth assembly in accordance withan alternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of a saw tooth assembly in accordance withan alternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 27 is a plan view of a saw disk for a rotary cutting machine,having saw tooth assemblies thereon in accordance with one aspect of thepresent invention;

FIG. 28 is a perspective view of a saw tooth holder in accordance withan alternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 29 is a partially sectioned, side elevation view of a saw toothassembly in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 30 is a partially sectioned, side elevation view of a saw toothassembly in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 31 is a partially sectioned, side elevation view of a saw toothassembly in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 32 is a perspective view of a saw tooth of the saw tooth assemblyof FIG. 31;

FIG. 33 is a perspective view of a saw tooth holder in accordance withan alternate embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 34 is a side elevation view of a saw tooth assembly in accordancewith an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The term “saw tooth” or “cutting tooth” is used herein to refer to acutting implement or tooth for use, in at least one embodiment, in arotary cutting machine for which replaceable teeth may be provided, suchas a circular saw having a saw disk with such replaceable saw teethmounted about the periphery thereof, either fixed directly thereto orthrough a tooth holder. However, a cutting tooth in accordance with thepresent invention may be used in any cutting machine for whichreplaceable cutting teeth may be desired, and which can be used to cutany number of materials and/or products.

Referring first to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, a cutting toothassembly 11 which is adapted, in at least one application of the presentinvention, to be mounted about the periphery of a rotatable element of arotary cutting machine, such as a circular saw disk 15 (see FIG. 2) ofcircular saw for example, the cutting tooth assembly 11 generallycomprises at least a tooth holder 12 and a replaceable cutting tooth 10removably mounted thereto. Although the terms “saw tooth” and “saw toothholder” may be used herein, it is to be understood that these termsinclude cutting teeth of other types as well as mating tooth holders ofother types, i.e. which are not necessary part of a “saw” per se.Additionally, in at least one embodiment the saw tooth assembly 14 alsoincludes an adapter 14 for mounting the tooth 10 to the holder portion12. The saw tooth holder 12 includes a main body portion 16 and a pairof parallel plate-like legs 18 depending from opposite sides of the bodyportion 16 to define a slot 20 therebetween. It is to be understood,however that only a single such plate-like leg 18 may also be used. Theslot 20 is adapted for receiving a peripheral edge of the saw disk 15therein. At least one of the depending legs 18 includes at least onetransverse hole 22 therethrough which corresponds to at least onealigned hole formed in the saw disk, such that a fastening element (suchas a bolt or rivet, for example) can be disposed through the transversehole 22 and the corresponding aligned hole in the saw disk in order tofasten the saw tooth holder thereto. In the embodiment depicted, twotransverse holes 22 are provided through each of the depending legs 18of the saw tooth holder 12. While this means of attaching the saw toothholder 12 to a saw disk or other rotating element of the cutting machineis described, it is to be understood that other attachment means, eitherpermanent or removable, may be employed in order to fasten such a sawtooth holder 12 to the necessary components of the cutting machine foroperation thereof. In particular, a holder having only one pair ofplate-like legs 18 may be used, or conversely, having more than twopairs of plate-like legs 18. The holder may also be permanently fixedto, or alternately integrated into, the saw disk. Further, in accordancewith another embodiment, the saw disk may be fashioned so as to have aholder-like structure made or cut therein so as to directly, removablyattach a saw tooth there on, as shown in FIG. 27 for example.

The replaceable saw teeth and the saw tooth assemblies of the presentinvention as described herein are generally intended, in one embodiment,for use in a rotary cutting machine, such as a circular saw,particularly one used for cutting trees in a feller/buncher employed inthe forestry industry. However, it is to be understood that the sawteeth and the saw tooth assemblies of the present invention may beemployed in any other rotary cutting machines, whether used for cuttingwood products or other items. Such rotary cutting machines may include,but are not limited to, feller/bunchers, large-scale and small-scalecircular saws, chainsaws, and the like.

The saw tooth 10 is removably fastened to the saw tooth holder 12, andis thus replaceable when dulled, (e.g. completely dulled) and/ordamaged, with a replacement saw tooth, either the same as the one beingremoved or having an alternate configuration, such as for example one ofthe other embodiments described herein. The saw tooth 10 includes atleast more than four cutting edges, particularly having more than twocutting edges defined at least partially by two opposed faces of the sawtooth such that the tooth is reversible in order to expose anyone of theat least two cutting edges defined on each of the opposed faces of thesaw tooth. In one embodiment, the saw tooth 10 includes four cuttingedges defined on and/or by a first face thereof and four additionalcutting edges defined on and/or by an opposed second face, and thushaving a total of eight cutting edges. This permits each saw tooth 10 tobe rotated, such as in 90 degree increments, about a central axis(longitudinally extending between opposed cutting faces) thereof inorder to position any one of the four cutting edges on the first face inan operable cutting position relative to the tooth holder. Subsequentlyfor example, once all four first such cutting edges have been dulledand/or damaged, or as required or desired, the saw tooth is reversibleby 180° about a transverse axis, i.e. from front to back, in order toexpose the opposed second cutting face which itself defines four morecutting edges. The 90 degree incremental rotation, i.e. about a centrallongitudinal axis 42 (see FIGS. 3-4 b), may then begin such that any oneof the four cutting edges on the second face may be placed in anoperable cutting position. As may be understood, the expression‘operable cutting position’ may describe the position of a reversibletooth wherein one or alternatively two of the cutting edges are to beemployed in the cutting action of the tooth. The saw tooth 10 will bedescribed in further detail below.

Referring to FIGS. 1-2, the saw tooth 10 may be mounted either directlyto the saw tooth holder 12, or may be mounted thereto using an adapter14 intermediately mounted, i.e. disposed, therebetween. The adapter 14will be described in greater detail below, however in a particularembodiment, the adapter 14 generally includes a rear substantiallyplanar face 46, which is adapted to abut a corresponding surface 24 ofthe saw tooth holder 12, and an opposed front face 48, which isconfigured to correspond to the first and second cutting faces 26,28 ofthe saw tooth 10 such that mating contact therebetween is possible.Accordingly, the adapter 14 permits the saw tooth 10 having cuttingfaces on two sides thereof to be mounted against at least one planarsurface 24 of the saw tooth holder 12. In accordance with a particularembodiment, adapter 14 permits a saw tooth 10 having cutting faces ontwo sides thereof to be flush mounted against at least one planarsurface 24 of the saw tooth holder 12.

However, in a further embodiment, such an adapter 14 may be eliminated,providing that the saw tooth holder 12 is so configured such as to beable to permit the saw tooth 10 having opposed cutting faces 26,28 to bemounted, i.e. securely mounted, thereagainst. For example, the saw toothholder 12 may be configured with a surface which corresponds to, andmates with, the cutting faces of the saw tooth 10, as depicted in FIGS.17 and 18 showing the holders 112 and 212. In other words, the shape andconfiguration of the adapter 14 (particularly that of the outer face 48thereof) maybe be integrally formed into the surface 24 of the saw toothholder 12. Alternatively, an adapter 14 may be affixed to, i.e.permanently affixed, the saw tooth holder 12 in order to achievesubstantially the same effect as having a holder integrally formed intosurface 24 of the saw tooth holder 12. Although providing both thecorresponding surface on the saw tooth holder and the rear face of theadapter 14 with substantially flat planar surfaces for secure abutmenttherebetween is depicted, other mating surface configurations remainpossible, providing abutment, i.e. secure abutment, between the twosurfaces is maintained. For example, mating concave and convex surfacesbetween the saw tooth holder 12 and the adapter 14 are possible, thushelping to locate and secure the adapter in place on the saw toothholder. The use of a key and corresponding groove in surfaces 24 and 46may also be use.

A bolt 13 or other suitable fastening element may be used to removablyfasten both the saw tooth 10 and the adapter 14 to the saw tooth holder12. As may be understood, if an adapter 14 is integrally formed with orsubsequently affixed to tooth holder 12, bolt 13 may only removablysecure saw tooth 10 to saw tooth holder 12. The holder 12 and theadapter 14 are each provided with an aperture therein, within which thebolt 13 is receivable for removably fastening the saw tooth (as well asthe adapter if present) to the holder. Although the aperture 38 asdepicted is a through-bore, it is to be understood that two opposedapertures, one defined in each of the cutting faces of the tooth, may beused without requiring that these apertures extend fully through thebody of the tooth. As described in further detail below, saw tooth 10may also include an aperture therethrough, in alignment with thecorresponding apertures through the holder 12 and the adapter 14. Theaperture within at least the saw tooth may include an internal threadfor engagement with the threaded bolt 13, such that tightening of thehead of the bolt 13 acts to draw and/or force the saw tooth 10 securelyagainst the tooth holder for fastening the tooth in place thereon. Asmay be understood, one or both of the holder 12 and the adapter 14 mayalso be provided with an internal thread. Alternately, neither theholder, adapter or saw tooth may have such an internal threadtherewithin. In this case, the bolt or other fastening element, mayfasten these elements together using an additional nut threadablyengaged to with the bolt 13. For example, either the bolt head or thenut may be so configured to correspond to the shape of the cuttingfaces, such that it is abutted thereagainst without unduly protrudingtherefrom so as not to obstruct or otherwise reduce the effectiveness ofthe cutting edges. In FIG. 1, the bolt 13 extends through the tooth,adapter and holder, with the head of the bolt being proximate to the sawtooth, i.e. the bolt is inserted from the front of the cutting face ofthe tooth rearwardly towards the holder. When this embodiment is used,however, it is to be understood that the head of the bolt must notinterfere with the cutting faces and/or edges on the exposed cuttingface of the saw tooth and also must permit the cut chips/shavings to beable to exit the cutting face. Thus, in one embodiment (not shown) thehead of the bolt is of the type which is chamfered such that once fullytightened it lies flush with the surrounding surface. In the embodimentof FIG. 2, however, the bolt is mounted and introduced in the oppositemanner, such that once installed the bolt head is proximate the rearsurface of the holder. It is understood that either mountingconfiguration of the fastener (bolt or otherwise) may be used.

Further, all of the saw tooth assemblies described herein may includes afastener, such as the bolt 13, either alone or in combination with asleeve with which the bold can mate. The sleeve may be internallythreaded, such as to act like a nut which threadably mates with the bolt13, and in instructed into the aligned bores of each of the componentsof the assembly from an opposite end to the head of the bolt. Thus, whensuch an internally threaded sleeve is used, the bores through the centerof the saw tooth, the adapter and/or the saw tooth holder may be smoothand thus not threaded. A second back sleeve may also be used at the endof the holder through which the bolt is inserted, and through which thebolt extends.

Referring now to the saw tooth 10 in greater detail as depicted in FIGS.3 and 4, the tooth 10 includes at least a first cutting face 26, asecond cutting face 28 opposite the first cutting face, and a number ofside faces, for example, four main side faces 30 which extend between,and space apart, the first and second cutting faces 26, 28. Additionalintermediate side faces 32 may extend between the first and secondcutting faces 26,28 and may be disposed between adjacent major sidefaces 30. Alternatively, fewer than four side faces 32 may be used, forexample, three side faces. Each of the first and second cutting faces26, 28 may define four individual cutting edges 34 (i.e. four cuttingedges 34 on the first cutting face 26 and four cutting edges 34 on thesecond cutting face 28), which are disposed about the perimeter of eachof the cutting faces 26, 28, and which may be equally spaced thereaboutin the embodiment shown. The four cutting edges 34 of each of the firstand second cutting faces 26, 28 are more precisely defined at theintersection of inner surfaces 36 of the cutting faces and the sidefaces 30, 32 of the saw tooth. In the embodiment shown, the actualcutting edges 34 are defined specifically at the intersection of theintermediate side faces 32 and the inner surfaces 36 of each of thefirst and second cutting faces 26, 28. Alternatively, if no intermediateside 32 is provided, the cutting edges 34 may be defined at theintersection of the inner surfaces 36 of the cutting faces 26, 28 and oftwo adjacent side faces 30. In such an embodiment, the cutting edges,i.e. cutting surfaces, 34 may be disposed so as to finish at a point,i.e. a peak, or alternatively the cutting edge 34 may be truncated,similar to that shown in FIG. 3. In any of the possible embodiments, thecutting edge may also extend downwardly along the intersection edge 37between the inner surfaces 36 and each of the side faces 30.

The remaining angled intersection edge 37 defined at the intersection ofeach of the side faces 30 and the inner surfaces 36 of the cutting faces26 and 28 may act as a raking edge. Thus, as may be understood, most ofthe cutting action of the saw tooth 10 into the material to be cut, suchas wood for example, may occur mainly or principally at the cuttingedges 34, such as those in the embodiment depicted, disposed at theoutermost tips of each of the four triangular prisms or projectionswhich in part define each of the first and second cutting faces, in theillustrated embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4. While the outermost tipsprovide a majority of the cutting action, the inner cutting tips alsohelp maintain a satisfactory width of the kerf produced in the materialbeing cut. This is described in further detail in U.S. Pat. No.5,481,952 issued Jan. 9, 1996, the entire specification of which isincorporated herein by reference.

As may be understood, alternative embodiments, configurations and shapesof the cutting faces 26, 28 are contemplated. For example, the fourprisms, triangular or otherwise, may have a flat surface or may have acurved surface, for example a concave surface, or an inverted toroidalsurface. Further, one or more of said prisms may have a differentconfiguration from the others. Each of the first and second cuttingfaces 26, 28 are identical in the embodiment depicted. However providingthat the adapter 14 (or the holder 12 in the case when no adapter isemployed) is capable of adequately mating with both of the first andsecond cutting faces 26,28 these may differ in shape, configurationand/or cutting edge location. Additionally, the adapter 14 may have itstwo opposed faces, i.e. front and back, which are not identical, suchthat one face of adapter 14 may mate with one face 26, while the otherface of adapter 14 may mate with the other face 28. Further, each of themajor side faces 30 defines a plane which may be perpendicular to theplane of the next adjacent side face 30, and has a perimeter thereaboutin each such plane which may form a planar shape. This planar shape, forthe cutting tooth 10 depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4, defines an angularhourglass-like shape. Regardless of the particular planar shape soformed, it may be identical for each of the side faces 30. Thus, each ofthe side faces 30 may be of similar dimensions, such that the saw tooth10 may define a substantially square cross-sectional area taken througha plane 41 transversally extending through the tooth 10 between thespaced apart first and second cutting faces 26, 28. The plane 41 may beperpendicular to the central axis 42 extending through the saw tooth 10.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4 a and 4 b, first cutting face 26 mayfurther comprise bottom surfaces 31 which are disposed intermediate theaperture 38 and the triangular prisms 44 disposed at each corner of thecutting tooth. As shown, the bottom surfaces are concave, however it isunderstood that they may be flat, i.e. substantially devoid ofcurvature. Further, said bottom surfaces 31 may be inclined, i.e. theiroutermost edge may be higher than their innermost edge or alternatively,both outer and inner edges may be at the same level, with anintermediate point being lower than either of the outer or inner edge.In addition to bottom surfaces 31, first cutting face 26 may alsocomprise further interior surfaces 33, which interior surfaces 33 areillustrated as being bound by two adjacent bottom surfaces 31 andaperture 38. Said bottom surfaces 33 may be flat, i.e. substantiallydevoid of curvature, concave or otherwise. However it is understood thatthey may be curved, i.e. concave. Further, said bottom surfaces 31 maybe inclined, i.e. their outermost edge may be higher than theirinnermost edge or alternatively, both outer and inner edges may be atthe same level.

Central aperture 38 extends, in the embodiment shown, completely throughthe saw tooth 10 between the first and second cutting faces 26,28. Theaperture 38 is provided with an internal thread therein, such that thebolt 13 (see FIG. 2) is threadably engageable therewith to removablyfasten the saw tooth 10 in place on the holder 12. The aperture 38 has acentral longitudinal axis 40 extending therethrough which is coaxialwith the central axis 42 of the saw tooth 10. Alternatively, aperture 38may be replaced by two apertures disposed respectively through each offace 26 and 28, wherein each of said apertures is not in communicationwith the other. In an alternative embodiment, the saw tooth 10 may beprovided with an aperture which is not threaded, i.e. for example, itmay have a smooth inner wall. In such an embodiment, the bolt 13 may besized and configured so as to releasably engage a nut which will causethe tooth 10 (and adapter 14, if needed) to be held to the holder 12.When the saw tooth 10 is in use, this nut may be disposed in threadedengagement with the bolt on the cutting face (either 26 or 28) disposedin an operable cutting position, as shown in FIG. 1 for example.

According to a particular embodiment, each of the side faces 30 and 32of the saw tooth may be substantially parallel to the central tooth axis42. In this manner the tooth is not tapered relative to the central axis42, i.e. there is no taper of the side faces 30 and 32 from one cuttingface 26 to the other cutting face 28 or vice versa. The saw tooth 10 mayfurther be symmetric about two perpendicular planes of symmetry whichintersect along this central axis 42, said two planes being both normalto the transverse plane 41. Further, when rotated about the central axis42 in increments of about 90 degrees, the saw tooth 10 may remainsymmetric about the transverse plane 41 as well as both theaforementioned two perpendicular planes. Alternatively, the tooth may betapered relative to the central axis 42, i.e. there may be a taper ofall or some of the side faces 30 and 32 from one cutting face 26 to theother cutting face 28 or vice versa. Further, the side faces 30 and 32may taper inwardly in both directions towards the central plane 41, suchthat the side surfaces of the tooth form a V-shaped configuration.

The saw tooth 10 is rotatable about the central axis 42 in order toselectively position one of the cutting edges 34 in an operable cuttingposition when the tooth 10 is mounted on the saw tooth holder 12. Thus,once one cutting edge is (substantially) worn and/or damaged, or asrequired or desired, the tooth 10 can be rotated in increments of 90°(i.e. 90°, 180°, or 270° relative to a starting point) about the centralaxis 42 in order to position any one of the other three cutting edges 34of the respective cutting face in the operable cutting position. In theembodiment depicted, this would entail loosening the bolt 13sufficiently to permit the tooth 10 to be substantially removed fromengagement therewith, such that it can be rotated as described. However,it remains possible that the tooth can be rotated in place on the holder12, once the bolt, fastening element or other retaining means issufficiently loosened to permit rotation of the tooth in place on theholder (i.e. without having to completely disengage the tooth fromcontact with the holder). This however requires that the tooth can beadequately re-fastened in place on the holder in a secure and wellsupported configuration for cutting operation. Referring to FIGS. 1 and2, those cutting edges 34 disposed furthest away from the saw toothholder 12, and therefore from the center of the saw disk to which theholder may be mounted, are those which are located in an operablecutting position. Generally, one of these two outside cutting edgesperforms the majority of the cutting action, and thus it is this onecutting edge which is said to be in the operative cutting position.

The four major side faces 30 may include a first pair of faces which areparallel to each other, spacing apart a second pair of faces which areparallel to each other, all of which are parallel to the centrallongitudinal axis 42 of the tooth. In at least one embodiment, such asthe saw tooth 10 in FIG. 3, the first and second pairs are parallel toeach other, and thus each side face of the first pair of faces meets theside faces of the second pair of faces at substantially a right angle.However, in an alternate embodiment, the saw tooth 110, as depicted inFIG. 4 b, may be provided with a slightly skewed offset, such that afirst pair 17 of side faces 30 and a second pair 19 of side faces 30 arenot parallel to each other, and thus each side face does not meet thenext adjacent side face at right angles. (Regardless, these side facesremain parallel to the central axis 42 of the tooth.) In other words,the saw tooth 110 of FIG. 4 b defines a transverse cross-sectional shapewhich is a rhombus-like (with or without chamfered corners), rather thansubstantial square as per the saw tooth 10. The saw tooth 110, said tobe “offset”, thus has one of the two pairs of side faces (for examplethe pair of faces 19 in FIG. 4 b) which is angled relatively to a plane21 (i.e. faces 19 are not parallel with plane 21) which plane 21 isnormal to the other of the two pairs of faces (i.e. the pair of faces17), while remaining parallel to the central axis 42 (extending into thepage in FIG. 4 b). Thus, the relative angle between each adjacent sideface 30 is one of 90°±α, where α is an angle greater than about 0 andless than or equal to about 5 degrees, for example 89.1°/90.9° (where αis 0.1), 88°/92° (where α is 2°) or 85°/95° (where α is 5°). Inaccordance with a further embodiment, α is between about greater than 0and less than or equal to 15 degrees. In accordance with yet a furtherembodiment, α is between about greater than 0 and less than or equal to25 degrees. The saw tooth on each next adjacent holder about theperiphery of the saw disk 15 of the cutting machine may thus bealternately or randomly angled about opposite sides of a plane withinwhich the disk lies, such that the cutting edges are staggered. A toothin a first holder may be positioned such that the offset angle extendsthe cutting edge toward one side of the disk, and a tooth in the nextadjacent holder about the periphery of the disk may be positioned suchthat the offset angle extends its cutting edge towards the other side ofthe disk, and so on This may hereby create a staggered cross-cut effecton the work piece being cut. Alternatively, however, the cutting edgesmay not be staggered or alternated, and in a further embodiment, theremay be no pattern to the staggering of the tooth 10.

Referring back to FIGS. 3 and 4 a, the raking edges 37 of the saw tooth10 are substantially rectilinear between, at one end, the point at whichadjacent raking edges 37 intersect (for example, at the midpoint of eachcutting face perimeter edge), and at an opposite end, the intersectionpoint between the raking edges 37 and each adjacent cutting edge 34. Thefirst and second cutting faces 26,28 are recessed, creating recessedcenter portions thereof generally defining inner surfaces 36 thereon,and outwardly extending triangular prisms 44 at each corner of thetooth's cutting faces.

In use, once all four cutting edges 34 on a first one of the first andsecond cutting faces 26,28 have been dulled and/or damaged, or asrequired or desired, the tooth can subsequently be unfastened completelyfrom interconnection with the tooth holder 12 and reversed (such as bybeing rotated 180 degrees about reversing axis 29 in FIG. 2, or fromfront to back) in order to dispose the other one of the cutting faces26,28 in an outward or exposed position relative to the tooth holder 12,thereby providing four new cutting edges 34 for use. Therefore,regardless of which of the two opposed first and second cutting faces26,28 is used, the tooth is releasably fastenable to the tooth holder 12in substantially the same location thereon.

As best seen in FIG. 2, the saw tooth 10 is mounted on the holder 12within an opening defined therein between substantially perpendicularsurfaces 24 and 25 which create a seat within the body of the toothholder within which the tooth 10 is received for secure fastening to theholder. While these seats 24,25 on the holder 12 are disposed in twoperpendicular planes, these may each be respectively inclined relativeto a radial and tangential axis of the circular saw disk 15, which mayin a particular embodiment correspond to the radial and tangential axisof the holder 12 when in use. This may thus create a slight forward kerfclearance for the cutting edges 34 of the tooth. This forward clearanceattack angle is represented by angle θ in FIG. 2. This attack angle maybe, in at least one embodiment, only several degrees (for example fromabout 0° to less than or equal to about 5° in one embodiment and about2° in the embodiment depicted). Alternatively, this angle may be lessthan or equal to about 10°. In a further alternative, this angle may beless than or equal to about 25°. When the angle θ is made to be 0°, noattack angle (at least relative to the tangential axis of the saw disk15) is provided. However, in either case (i.e. angle θ is equal to zeroor is greater than zero) a kerf clearance may also be provided byforming the tooth and/or the holder with a suitable angle on at leastone face thereof (such as the radially outermost faces in FIG. 2 forexample), thus effectively creating a clearance attack angle withouthaving to actually angle the tooth (i.e. the central axis 42 thereof)relative to the holder and/or the tangential axis of the saw disk.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the adapter 14 which, in one embodiment of thepresent invention, may be used in order to mount the saw tooth 10 to thesaw tooth holder 12, is intermediately disposed therebetween when thesaw tooth is fastened in place on the holder 12 as depicted in FIGS. 1and 2. The adapter 14 may include a substantially planar rear face 46which may abut the rear planar surface 24 of the tooth holder 12 whenthe adapter is mounted thereon, and has a front face 48 which may beconfigured to substantially correspond to one or both of the cuttingfaces 26 and 28 of the saw tooth 10 such that the protruding front face48 of the adapter 14 can mate within the generally recessed innersurfaces 36 of the cutting faces 26,28 of the saw tooth for matingabutment therewith. Thus, when the adapter 14 and saw tooth 10 are matedtogether, at least two perpendicularly oriented flat faces may beprovided on the subassembly of the tooth-and-adapter (namely, one of theside faces 30 and the planar rear face 46 of the adapter 14) forrespective abutment against the perpendicular surfaces 25 and 24defining the saw tooth receiving opening in the holder 12. When sopositioned, the bolt 13 or alternate fastening means can then be used toreleasably secure the adapter 14 and the saw tooth 10 to the holder 12.In order to permit this, a central aperture 50 extends through theadapter 14, in alignment with the aperture 38 defined in the saw tooth10 and the aperture extending through the holder 12. Alternatively, asdepicted in FIG. 22 for example, the tooth-and-adapter subassembly maybe releasably affixed together, independently of the bolt 13, andsubsequent to said attachment, the tooth-and-adapter subassembly maythen be releasably affixed (i.e. attached) to the holder 12. In yet afurther alternative, the adapter 14 may first be releasably affixed tothe holder 12, following which the saw tooth 10 may be releasablyaffixed to the holder-adapter subassembly. Referring now to the sawtooth assembly 211 depicted in FIGS. 6 to 9, the saw tooth assembly 211comprises a saw tooth holder 12, as described above with reference tothe embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 2, to which is releasably mountable a sawtooth 210, either with or without an associated adapter 214. As bestseen in FIGS. 7 and 8, the saw tooth 210 differs from the saw tooth 10previously described at least in the shape and configuration of thecutting faces and their associated raking edges, however it remainssimilar to the saw tooth 10 in many other aspects. For example, the sawtooth 210 includes opposed first and second cutting faces 226 and 228,each of which includes at least more than two cutting edges 234 thereon.In the embodiment depicted, four cutting edges 234 are located on eachof the first and second cutting faces 226 and 228. The cutting faces226,228 are spaced apart by side faces which all extend therebetween andmay be substantially parallel to a central axis 242 of the tooth, theside faces include four major side faces 230 and may further includefour intermediate side faces 232 which are disposed between adjacentmajor side faces 230. In accordance with an alternative embodiment, sawtooth 210, as well as saw tooth 10 may not have major side faces 230which are parallel to central axis. In particular, major side faces 230may not be flat but may include a variety of configurations. Inparticular, one or more of said major side faces may comprise a curve,i.e. for example it may be concave or convex. Naturally, thecorresponding portion of holder 12 may be shaped to allow for a fittherewith. Alternatively, major side faces 230 may include a graduallyinclined section, for example to the halfway point of the major sideface 230, followed by another inclined portion so as to create av-shaped side, either projecting outwardly or internally. Further, asdescribed above with respect to saw tooth 10, intermediate side faces232 may be omitted. The intermediate side faces 232 are angled relativeto each of the two immediately adjacent side faces 230, and may bedisposed on one or more, i.e. on each of the four corners defined by thegenerally square saw tooth 210. Alternatively, one or more of theintermediate side faces 232 may be curved. A transversely extendingplane 241 defined through the center of the saw tooth 210 body betweenthe spaced apart cutting faces 226,228 thus defines a transversecross-sectional area which is generally square in shape (at least theouter perimeter thereof). The transversely extending plane 241 issubstantially normal to the central axis 242 of the saw tooth. Thecentral axis 242 of the tooth may be substantially coaxial with acentral longitudinal axis of the aperture 238 which extends through thesaw tooth 210 between the first cutting face 226 and the second cuttingface 228.

As per the saw tooth 10 described above, when rotated about the centralaxis 242 in increments of about 90 or 180 degrees, the saw tooth 210 mayremain symmetric about the transverse plane 241, as well as to two otherplanes of symmetry which are both perpendicular to the transverse plane241 and which intersect along the central axis 242. The saw tooth 210 isthus similarly rotatable about the central axis 242 in order toselectively position one or two of the four cutting edges 234 per eachcutting face 226,228 in an operable cutting position when the tooth 210is mounted on the saw tooth holder 12. Once the four cutting edges onone of the cutting faces have been worn or damaged, or as required ordesired, the tooth 210 can then similarly be reversed such that theopposite cutting face is exposed (i.e. away from the tooth holder 12) inorder to permit use of the other four cutting edges 234.

The first cutting face 226 (it is to be understood that the opposedsecond cutting face 228 may be identical to the first cutting face 226,and thus only one will be described in detail herein) includes asubstantially square perimeter 235 therearound which includes thecutting edges 234 at each (equally) spaced apart corner thereof andraking edges 237 extending between each of the rectilinear cutting edges234. The raking edges 237 of the saw tooth 210 are curved and moreparticularly define a continuous curve having a substantially constantradius. Alternatively, the curve may not be constant in radius, or maycomprise two or more substantially constant radii. In a furtheralternative, the raking edges may comprise two straight portions spacedapart by a curved section, for example disposed substantially in themiddle of the raking edge. The four cutting edges 234 are defined at theintersection of a substantially frustoconical inner surface 236 of thecutting face 226 and the four intermediate side faces 232. The cuttingface 226 may further include, in addition to the frustoconical innersurface 236 which may extend about the full periphery of the cuttingface 226 (bounded by the peripheral edge 235), an inner surface portion243, which may be a substantially flat annulus and may be parallel toplane 241, radially disposed between the central aperture 238 and thesurrounding frustoconical inner surface 236. The inner surface portion243 may alternately be inclined or may also be shaped to have a curve,i.e. for example a concave curve. In a further embodiment, inner surfaceportion 243 may be eliminated.

Each of the major side faces 230 defines a plane and has a perimeterthereabout in each such plane which forms a planar shape. This planarshape, for the cutting tooth 210, defines a bi-concave shape, whereintop and bottom edges are rectilinear and parallel to each other whilethe other two edges (i.e. the raking edges 237) are curved inwardtowards each other. The bi-concave shape may be identical for each ofthe side faces 30, which may all be of substantially similar dimensions,such that the saw tooth 210 defines a substantially squarecross-sectional area taken through plane 241.

Referring now to FIGS. 9 and 9A, the adapter 214 used, in oneembodiment, to fasten the saw tooth 210 to the holder 12 includes asubstantially planar rear face 246 which abuts the rear planar surface24 of the tooth holder 12 when the adapter 214 is mounted thereon. Theadapter 214 has a front face 248 which is configured to correspond tothe cutting faces 226 and 228 of the saw tooth 210, such that theprotruding front face 248 of the adapter 214 can mate with the innersurfaces 236 and 243 of the cutting faces 226,228 of the saw tooth formating abutment therewith. In accordance with a particular embodiment,the mating of the inner surfaces 236 and 243 of the cutting faces226,228 with the front face 248 may result in a perfect match of saidsurfaces. Thus, when the adapter 214 and saw tooth 210 are matedtogether to form a subassembly which is fastenable to the holder 12, atleast two perpendicularly oriented flat faces are provided (namely, oneof the side faces 230 of the saw tooth 210 and the planar rear face 246of the adapter 214) for respective abutment against the perpendicularsurfaces 25 and 24 defining the saw tooth receiving opening in theholder 12. Accordingly, the adapter 214 permits the saw tooth 210 to bemounted flush against at least one planar surface 24 of the saw toothholder 12. However, as noted above with respect to the adapter 14 forthe saw tooth 10, such an adapter may be eliminated providing that thesaw tooth holder 12 is so configured such as to be able to permit thesaw tooth 210 having opposed cutting faces 226,228 to be securelymounted thereagainst. For example, the saw tooth holder may beconfigured, i.e. fabricated, with a surface which corresponds to, andmates with, the cutting faces of the saw tooth. Alternatively, a piecesubstantially similar to adapter 14 may be permanently fitted, i.e. forexample through welding or other means, onto surface 24 and/or 25.

Referring now to the embodiment of the present invention depicted inFIGS. 10-11, an alternately shaped saw tooth 310 is shown. The saw tooth310 includes opposed first and second cutting faces 326 and 328 whichare spaced apart by four lateral side faces 330 that extend axiallybetween the two cutting faces. Adjacent side faces 330 meet alongrounded (axially-extending) edges 332 located at each corner of thesubstantially square saw tooth 310 between each of the planar side faces330. The cutting edges 334 of the saw tooth 310 are defined along theedges formed at the intersection of the side faces 330 (including therounded corner edges 332) and the outermost inner surface 336 whichextends around the periphery of the cutting faces 326,328. The cuttingedges 334 may be defined either only at the corners of the cutting face(i.e. at the intersection of the corner edges 332 and the inner surface336) and/or alternately along the length of long edge 337 of the cuttingface (i.e. at the intersection of the side faces 330 and the innersurface 336). The long edges 337, which are substantially rectilinearextending in a straight line between adjacent corners of the saw tooth,can thus act either as principle cutting edges or as raking edges.

Each of the side faces 330 defines a plane which is substantiallyperpendicular to that of the next adjacent side face 330, and which hasa perimeter thereabout in each such plane that forms a planar shape.However, as described below, the planes of each adjacent side face 330may alternately not perpendicular to each other, wherein the tooth isprovided with a skewed offset such as tooth 110 of FIG. 4 b. The planarshape defined in each plane of the side faces 330, for the cutting tooth310, defines a square which may be identical for each of the side faces30. All of the side faces 330 have substantially similar dimensions,such that the saw tooth 310 defines four substantially square side faces330 about the lateral surface thereof. Thus, when the tooth 310 isrotated about its central axis 342 in increments of about 90 or 180degrees, one or more of the cutting edges 334 is disposed in anoperative cutting position. The saw tooth 310 may also have asubstantially square cross-sectional area taken through a central plane(as per planes 41 and 2410 disposed between the opposed cutting surfaces326 and 328 and being perpendicular to the central tooth axis 342. Thesaw tooth 310 may thus form a cube, however with recesses formed thereinin the first and second cutting faces 326 and 328. Each of the twocutting faces may define a substantially square perimeter edge 335therearound, which comprises at least the four cutting edges 334 and thefour raking edges 337 disposed therebetween. The perimeter edge 335bounds the inner surfaces of the cutting faces 326,328. These innersurfaces include four inwardly angled, radially-outermost inner surfaces336 which extend about the periphery of each cutting face, as well as aflat inner surface portion 343 disposed between the central aperture 338(extending through the saw tooth 310 between the opposed first andsecond cutting faces 326 and 328) and the four surrounding surfaces 336.The flat inner surface portion 343 may be substantially square-shaped.

As seen in FIG. 11, an adapter 314 may also be provided for use with thesaw tooth 310. The adapter 314 corresponds to the shape andconfiguration of the saw tooth 310, having a front face 348 which isconfigured to correspond to the cutting faces 326 and 328 of the sawtooth 310, such that the protruding front face 348 of the adapter 314can mate within the inner surfaces 336 and 343 of the cutting faces326,328 of the saw tooth for mating abutment thereagainst. As per thepreviously described adapters, the adapter 314 includes a substantiallyplanar rear face 346 which abuts against the rear planar surface 24 ofthe tooth holder 12 when the adapter 314 is mounted thereon.Accordingly, when the adapter 314 and saw tooth 310 are mated togetherto form a subassembly which is fastenable to the holder 12, at least twoperpendicularly oriented flat faces are provided (namely, one of theside faces 330 of the saw tooth 310 and the planar rear face 346 of theadapter 314) for respective abutment against the perpendicular surfaces25 and 24 defining the saw tooth receiving opening in the holder 12. Theadapter 314 therefore permits the saw tooth 310 to be mounted flushagainst at least one planar surface 24 of the saw tooth holder 12.However, as noted above, such an adapter may be eliminated providingthat the saw tooth holder 12 is so configured such as to be able topermit the saw tooth 310 having opposed cutting faces 326,328 to besecurely mounted thereagainst. As may be understood, however, the use ofan adapter may allow a common saw tooth holder (such as the holder 12 ofFIGS. 1-2 and 6 for example) to be used for selectively mounting theretoany one or combination of several different tooth types, embodiments orvariants, such as any one of the saw teeth 10, 110, 210 or 310 forexample.

As described above relative to the tooth 110 as depicted in FIG. 4 b,the saw teeth 210 and 310 may similarly be provided with a slightlyskewed offset, such that a first pair of the side faces 230/330 and asecond pair of the side faces 230/330 are not parallel to each other,and thus such that each side face does not meet the next adjacent sideface at right angles. In other words, the saw tooth 210 and the sawtooth 310 may, in alternate embodiments not depicted, define atransverse cross-sectional shape which is more rhombus-like (with orwithout chamfered corners), rather than substantial square as per teethdepicted. The saw teeth 210 and 310 can thus be skewed as per the tooth110, i.e. said to be “offset”, such that one of the two pairs of sidefaces is angled relatively to a plane which is normal to the other ofthe two pairs while remaining parallel to the central axis of the tooth.Thus, a non-90 degree relative angle between each adjacent side face230/330 is provided.

Referring now to FIG. 12, an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention is shown, in which the saw tooth 410 is similar to thosepreviously described, however differs in the shape and configuration ofthe cutting faces/edges and their associated raking edges. Particularly,the reversible saw tooth 410 includes opposed first and second cuttingfaces 426 and 428, each of which includes at least more than two cuttingedges 434 thereon. In fact, in the embodiment depicted, each cuttingface includes four cutting tips 434, which are in fact cutting tips inthe present embodiment. The four cutting tips 434 are located at fouropposed corners of each cutting face 426,428, which are coincident withthe side edges 433 that extend between the first and second cuttingfaces 426,428 at each remote corner of the square-sections body of thesaw tooth 410.

The cutting faces 426,428 are spaced apart by side faces 430 which allextend therebetween and may be substantially parallel to a central axis442 of the tooth. In accordance with an alternative embodiment, sawtooth 410 may not have side faces 430 which are parallel to central axis442. The side faces 430 extend in a fore-aft direction of the toothbetween the first and second cutting faces 426, 428 and in a directionsubstantially normal thereto between the side edges 433. The side faces430 each thus define a plane which may be perpendicular to the plane ofthe next adjacent side face 430, and which has a perimeter thereabout ineach such plane which forms a planar shape. This planar shape, for thecutting tooth 410 depicted in FIGS. 12 and 12A, defines anhourglass-like shape having a flat truncated top and bottom (i.e. theside edges 433), and opposed smoothly curved sides (i.e. the rakingedges 437). This shape is clearly seen in FIG. 12A. In the depictedembodiment, the raking edges 437 (of which there are four on each of thefirst and second cutting faces 426, 428) have a substantially constantradius about their full length between the cutting tips 434.

Regardless of the particular planar shape so formed by the sides 430, itmay be identical for each of the side faces 430. Thus, each of the sidefaces 430 may be of similar dimensions, such that the saw tooth 410 maydefine a substantially square cross-sectional area taken through theplane 441 transversally extending through the tooth 410 between thespaced apart first and second cutting faces 426, 428. Alternately, ofcourse, and as described above, each of the major side faces 430 may notbe flat but may include a variety of configurations. In particular, oneor more of said major side faces may comprise a curve, i.e. for exampleit may be concave or convex. Naturally, the corresponding portion ofholder corresponding to the tooth 410 for use therewith may be shaped toallow for a fit therewith. Alternatively still, major side faces 430 mayinclude a gradually inclined section, for example to the halfway pointof the major side face 430, followed by another inclined portion so asto create a v-shaped side, either projecting outwardly or internally.The transversely extending plane 441 defined through the center of thesaw tooth 410 body between the spaced apart cutting faces 426,428 thusdefines a transverse cross-sectional area which is generally square inshape (at least the outer perimeter thereof). The transversely extendingplane 441 is substantially normal to the central axis 442 of the sawtooth. The central axis 442 of the tooth may be substantially coaxialwith a central longitudinal axis of the aperture 438 which extendsthrough the saw tooth 410 between the first cutting face 426 and thesecond cutting face 428.

As per the saw teeth described above, when rotated about the centralaxis 442 in increments of about 90 or 180 degrees, the saw tooth 410 mayremain symmetric about the transverse plane 441, as well as to two otherplanes of symmetry which are both perpendicular to the transverse plane441 and which intersect along the central axis 442. The saw tooth 410 isthus similarly rotatable about the central axis 442 in order toselectively position one or two of the four cutting edges (tips) 434 ofeach cutting face 426,428 in an operable cutting position when the tooth410 is mounted on the saw tooth holder. Once the four cutting edges onone of the cutting faces have been worn or damaged, or as required ordesired, the tooth 410 can then similarly be reversed such that theopposite cutting face is exposed (i.e. away from the tooth holder 12) inorder to permit use of the other four cutting edges 434.

The first cutting face 426 (it is to be understood that the opposedsecond cutting face 428 may be identical to the first cutting face 426,and thus only one will be described in detail herein) includes asubstantially square perimeter therearound when viewed from the front ofthe cutting face, which includes the cutting edges 434 at each equallyspaced apart corner thereof and raking edges 437 extending therebetween.As noted above, the raking edges 437 of the saw tooth 410 are curved andmore particularly define a continuous curve having a substantiallyconstant radius extending between each of the cutting tips 434.Alternatively, the curve may not be constant in radius, or may comprisea compound curve having two or more curves, whether of substantiallyconstant radii or not. The four cutting tips 434 are defined at theintersection of a substantially frustoconical, curved inner surface 436of the cutting face 426 and two of the curved raking edges 437 at theperiphery of the cutting face. The cutting face 426 may further include,in addition to the frustoconical inner surface 436 which may extendabout the full periphery of the cutting face 426 (bounded by theperipheral edge thereof), an inner surface portion 443, which may be asubstantially flat annulus having a diameter 440. The annular and flatinner surface 443 of the cutting face may be parallel to transversalplane 441 and is radially disposed between the central bore or aperture438 and the surrounding frustoconical inner surface 436. The innersurface portion may alternately be inclined or may also be shaped tohave a curve, i.e. for example a concave curve, rather than being flatand thus parallel to the plane 441. In a further embodiment, as shown inFIG. 16, the inner surface portion 243 may be eliminated completely, inwhich case the frustoconical inner surface 436 extends inwardly from theouter periphery of the cutting face (defined by the four raking edges437) all the way to the central bore/aperture 438.

As seen in FIG. 12A, the saw tooth 410 may also be formed for twoportions, in this case two identical halves, which abut together to formthe full saw tooth 410. It is to be understood that the tooth 410, aswell as all of the saw teeth described above, can be so formed to twointerlocking portions. In the embodiment of FIG. 12A, the saw tooth 410is split along the transverse plane 441 such as to divide the wholetooth into two equal halves which each have inner surfaces 449 that abuteach other at this midpoint transverse plane.

Referring to FIG. 13, a cross-section of a saw tooth 510 in accordancewith another alternate embodiment of the present invention is shown,wherein the opposed first and second cutting faces 526 and 528 of thetooth differ from each other (i.e. are not identical as per the opposedcutting faces of the other saw teeth described above). It is to beunderstood that all of the above-mentioned teeth 10, 210, 310, 410 cansimilarly include first and second cutting faces thereof which differ,whether slightly or more significantly, from each other. The saw tooth510 of FIG. 13 includes a first cutting face 526 which includes anannular inner surface portion 543, which may be substantially parallelto a central transversal plane extending through the body of the tooth,and a substantially flat (but inclined relative to the inner surfaceportion 543) frustoconical outer surface 536 disposed radially outwardtherefrom. The opposed second cutting face 528, in contrast, includes asimilar annular inner surface portion 543 which is substantiallyparallel to the same surface 543 on the first cutting face 526. Theradially outer surface of the second cutting face 528, however,comprises a curved frustoconical surface 537. Both the curvedfrustoconical surface 537 of the second cutting face 528 and the flat(but inclined) frustoconical surface 536 of the first cutting face 526extend about the full periphery of the respective cutting face.

FIG. 14 shows a saw tooth 610 in accordance with another possiblealternate construction, in which rather than being formed of a singleblock of metal from which the various faces, edges, surfaces, etc. areformed, the cutting faces are created by adding outwardly extendingprisms 644 (whether triangular, or otherwise) onto a core body 616 ofthe saw tooth. Each prism 644 includes a cutting edge (or tip) 634thereon, as well as at least one raking edge 637. Although only a singlesuch prism 644 is depicted in FIG. 14, four of these may be fastened tothe main core body 616 on each of the two opposed surfaces of the bodywhich will become the opposed first and second cutting faces.

FIG. 15 depicts a saw tooth 710 in accordance with another alternateembodiment, which has opposed cutting faces that each include a firstannular inner surface 743 which may be either flat (i.e. substantiallydevoid of curvature) or curved (either concavely or convexly), and whichsurrounds the central aperture or bore 738 defined in the tooth 710. Asecond inner surface 746 is disposed radially outwardly from the firstinner surface 743, and may be substantially frustoconical and extendabout the full perimeter of the annulus defined by the first innersurface 743. The saw tooth 710 further includes outwardly projectingcutting prisms 744, but which are disposed along the side edges 735defining the perimeter of the square tooth body within which the firstand second inner surfaces 743, 746 are defined on each of the opposedcutting faces. Each of these substantially triangular protruding prisms744 includes a cutting edge or cutting tip 734 and at least one (butgenerally two) raking edges 737.

Referring now to FIGS. 17 and 18, two alternate saw tooth holders 112and 212 are shown, which are similar to the saw tooth holder 12described above, however include adaptor portions 114 and 214,respectively, directly integrated therewith on the seat surfaces 124 and224. In other words, the shape and configuration of the adapter(particularly that of the outer face thereof) is integrally formed intothe surface 124,224 of the saw tooth holders 112,212. Thus, the sawtooth used in conjunction with the tooth holders 112 and 212 is mounteddirectly onto the adaptor portions 114 and 214 thereof, using a fasteneras required, within the need for a separate adaptor 14.

Referring to FIG. 19, a saw tooth assembly 811 in accordance withanother alternate embodiment of the present invention is shown, andincludes generally a saw tooth holder 812 to which a pair of saw teeth810 are fastened using a bolt 813. The adapter portion 814 is integrateddirectly into the body of the saw tooth holder 812 and is configured tocorrespond to the shape and configuration of the cutting faces of thesaw teeth 810 such that these may be fastened securely to the body ofthe saw tooth holder. In this embodiment, two saw teeth 810 are providedand either integrally formed together or merely being distinctindividual saw teeth which are abutted back to back when fastened inplace on the saw tooth holder. Each of the saw teeth 810 comprises asubstantially C-shaped cross-sectional shape which extends horizontallyto define a curved half pipe-shaped tooth. A central bore 838 is definedthrough each of the saw teeth 810 through which the bolt 813 extends forremovably fastening the saw teeth to the holder. An intermediatemounting member 840 may also be provided between each of the abuttedrear surfaces 815 of the curved saw teeth 810 such as to more securelyinterlock the abutted curved surfaces together when fastened in place onthe holder. As per the replaceable saw teeth described above, each sawtooth 810 may be rotated (for example, by 180° about the axis of thebolt) such as to expose at least another cutting edge thereof in theoperative cutting position. When all cutting edges on the forwardcutting face saw tooth 810 are dulled and/or the when desired orrequired, the forward saw tooth may either be removed and replaced orboth saw teeth 810 mounted to the holder may be disengaged therefrom byloosening the attachment bolt 813 and the pair of saw teeth 810 arereversed as described above such as to switch positions of theirrespective cutting faces in order to place a new cutting face of theother saw tooth in the operative cutting position.

FIG. 20 depicts a saw tooth in accordance with another alternateembodiment of the present invention. Particularly, saw tooth 910 is verysimilar to the saw tooth 210 as described above and depicted in FIGS. 7and 8, however the configuration of the opposed cutting faces 926 and928 are slightly different. In particular, referring to the visiblecutting face 926 in FIG. 20, each cutting face includes a curved outersurface portion 936 which extends about the full periphery of thecutting face within the outer cutting and raking edges and extendsradially inward all the way to the central bore 938 defined through thecenter of the cutting tooth 910. Accordingly, no additional or distinctinner surface portion exists as per some of the other saw teethdescribed above. As best seen in FIG. 20A, this curved outer surfaceportion 936 of the cutting faces 926 and 928 defines a non-constantradius of curvature such that the outermost (i.e. furthest away from thecentral bore 938) edges of the surface 936 are more steep and thusdefine a smaller radius of curvature and as the surface 936 extendstowards the central bore 938, this radius of curvature increases suchthat the curve begins to flatten out (however, never fully defines acompletely flat surface) before increasing in slope again upwardstowards the central bore 938. Accordingly, the effect is that theentrance to the central bore 938 is slightly raised relative to thelowest-most point of the curved outer surfaces 936 of each cutting face.

Referring now to FIG. 21, the saw tooth assembly 1011 includes a sawtooth holder 1012 to which a saw tooth 1010 is mounted via anintermediate adapter 1014. In this embodiment, the adapter portion 1014is either permanently fastened or integrally formed with the saw toothholder 1012, and the saw tooth 1010 is removably fastened to the holder1014 via a fastening member 1013 which protrudes from each of theopposed cutting faces 1026 and 1028 of the saw tooth 1010. The fasteners1013 protruding from each of the opposed cutting faces can either beopposite ends of a common threaded fastener extending through a centralbore of the saw tooth, or alternatively can be individual threadedfasteners which protrude outwardly from each of the cutting faces and towhich each is permanently engaged, whether by welding, etcetera. Thus,in order to mount the reversible saw tooth 1010 to the holder 1012, itis rotated such as to thread the fastener 1013 into the mating threadedbore 1038 defined within the adapter portion 1014. Accordingly, theadapter portion 1014 includes a rounded or curved outer surface such asto be able to permit the rotation of the saw tooth until it is fullyabutted thereagainst. Thus, in this embodiment further clearance isprovided between the bottom of the saw tooth lower face 1032 and theopposed surface 1025 defined on the holder in the opening or seatportion within which the tooth is received. However, as described withrespect to the embodiment of the saw tooth assembly 11 shown in FIG. 2,the saw tooth 1010 is preferably provided with an outwardly inclinedangle of attack such as to permit clearance on the radially outermostface 1032 of the saw tooth for the kerf. Thus, the distance D2 definedbetween the holder surface 1025 and the forward edge of the saw tooth1010 is greater than the distance D1 defined between this surface 1025and an innermost edge of the saw tooth and the holder 1014 to which itis abutted, thereby providing a slight outward inclined angle to the sawtooth such as to create kerf clearance on the outer surface of the sawtooth.

FIG. 22 depicts an embodiment similar to that of FIG. 21, however theadapter 1114 is removably fastened to the holder 1112, such as by arearwardly mounted bolt 1113 which extends through the central body ofthe holder and into a mating threaded opening 1117 defined in theadapter. The saw tooth 1010 mounted to the adapter 1114 is otherwisesimilar to that previously described with respect to FIG. 21.

In the embodiment of FIG. 23, a saw tooth assembly 1211 is shown, whichincludes a saw tooth 1210 which is mounted directly to a correspondingsaw tooth holder 1212 using a suitable fastening means, such as therearwardly mounted bolt 1213 which extends through the body of theholder and through a central bore defined in the saw tooth in order tofasten same to the holder. In this embodiment, the holder is providedwith seating faces 1224 which are shaped and configured such as toreceive at least a portion of the cutting face of the saw tooth abutteddirectly thereagainst when the saw tooth 1210 is mounted to the holder.Thus, these seating faces 1224 are curved and provide a cut-out forreceiving the outermost inner surface portions of the cutting face aswell as the cutting and raking edges thereagainst.

FIG. 24 depicts the saw tooth holder 1212 to which the saw tooth 1210 isfastened, the holder 1212 includes a smaller adapter portion 1214 at thelower edge of seating face 1224 which is used to mate with thecorrespondingly opposed surfaces of the saw tooth's cutting face, suchthat the saw tooth 1210 can be mounted directly to the holder in asecure manner. As noted above, cut-outs 1227 at the outer mating edgesof the seating surfaces 1224 and 1225 are provided such that the innercutting tips or edges of the saw tooth do not interfere with the holderduring mounting of the cutting tooth or during use of the entire sawtooth assembly.

FIG. 25 depicts the saw tooth assembly 11 as previously described anddepicted in FIGS. 2-5. However, the saw tooth 1310 mounted thereto isslightly different from the saw tooth 10 as described above, in that thesaw tooth 1310 is formed of two halves which abut together back to backbefore being fastened to the saw tooth holder 12 via the correspondingadapter 14. As described above with respect to the saw tooth 410 shownin FIG. 12A, the saw tooth 1310 is formed of two identical halves whichinterlock and/or abut together to form the full saw tooth. Thus, eitherthe whole saw tooth or only one half thereof may be rotated as desiredsuch as to expose a different cutting edge in a principle operativecutting position, and as described above, the entire saw tooth may bedetachable from the holder and reversed such as to expose the secondcutting face having the four cutting edges thereon. Although the sawtooth 1310 is preferably split into two equal halves in a transversalplane approximately midway between the first and second cutting faces ofthe saw tooth, it is to be understood that the saw tooth couldalternately be split into two or more portions of differing sizesprovided that they correspond to one another and abut and/or interlocksuch as to create a whole saw tooth having cutting faces on at leastopposed first and second faces thereof.

FIG. 26 depicts an alternate saw tooth assembly 1311 which includes asaw tooth holder 1312 to which are removably fastened a plurality of sawteeth 1310 which interlock to form a stacked set of saw teeth which canall be mounted to the saw tooth holder via a suitable fastener such as abolt 1313. Each of the saw teeth 1310 may in fact only comprise a singlecutting face 1326 which includes at least more than two cutting edgesthereon and, in a more preferable embodiment, four cutting edges 1334thereon at each of the four outer corners of the generally squarecutting tooth 1310. The cutting faces 1326 are as described above withrespect to the saw tooth 10, however rather than having an opposed andmirror image cutting face on the tooth, the rear tooth face 1328 definedon the other side of the saw tooth from the forward cutting face 1326 isin fact shaped and configured such as to be able to mate and abutagainst the next opposed cutting face 1326 of the next saw tooth 1310.Thus, this creates a stacked set of saw teeth, each of which can berotated such as to expose a different one of the cutting edges thereonin an operative cutting position. When the outermost saw tooth 1310 isdulled, damaged, or it is otherwise desired to replace same, theforemost saw tooth can simply be removed (i.e. completely disconnectedfrom the remainder of the stacked saw teeth), thus exposing thesubsequent unused saw tooth 1310 at the top of the stack. This removedtooth is then replaced at the rear of the stack before the indexed stackof teeth is then re-placed on the holder and re-fastened thereto.Referring now to FIG. 27, a portion of a saw disk 415 is shown whichincludes a plurality of saw tooth holders 412 integrally formed directlythereon (rather than being separate elements fastened thereto such asfor the saw tooth holder 12 described above). To each of the integralsaw tooth holders 412 is similarly mounted a saw tooth 10, either withor without an intermediate adapter 14.

Referring now to FIG. 28, an alternate saw tooth holder 512 is depictedwhich includes an adapter portion 514 integrated therewith on thegenerally radially extending seat surface 524 against which the sawtooth is fastened via a suitable fastener such as bolt 13. The adapterportion 514 integrated with the holder 512 generally defines asubstantially square shape having a central square recess 548 definedtherein within which a portion of the saw tooth is received when mountedto the saw tooth holder. A central threaded bore extends through thebody of the saw tooth holder as per the previously described holdersabove, such that the bolt 13 may fasten the reversible saw tooth to thesaw tooth holder 512. Within the recess 548 of the adapter portion 514is defined an inner substantially flat surface 549 against which amating surface of the saw tooth is abutted as shown in FIG. 29.Therefore, the saw tooth 1410 employed with the saw tooth holder 512includes a correspondingly shaped and configured central shank portion1443 which is adapted for mating within the square recess 548 of theadapter portion 514 when the saw tooth is fastened to the holder.Therefore, as both the shank portion 1443 and the mating recess 548within which it is received are both, at least in this embodiment,provided with a substantially square configuration, these two portionsinterlock such as to help prevent unwanted rotation of the saw tooth1410. The adapter portion 514 protrudes outwardly from the seat surface524 such as to create inner and outer clearance gaps 551 within whichare received the cutting edges of the saw tooth such as to preventunwanted contact between the saw tooth edges and/or cutting face and thetooth holder during operation of the entire assembly. As seen in FIG.29, the saw tooth 1410 is similar to the saw tooth 410 as describedabove, however with the addition of the protruding central shank portion1443 on both of the opposed cutting faces 1426 and 1428. Although thecentral shank portion 1443 as depicted is substantially square forreceipt into the correspondingly shaped recess 548 in the associatedadapter 514 of the saw tooth holder 512, it is to be understood thatalternate configurations may be provided as long as the mating shank andrecess and/or opening in the adapter or holder are complimentary andsimilarly configured such that they can securely mate one within theother. Although in this embodiment the protruding shank is provided onthe saw tooth and is received within the recess or opening within theholder, the converse may also of course be provided wherein theprotruding shank is disposed on the adapter and/or holder and which isreceived within a correspondingly sized and shaped opening in thecutting face of the saw tooth about the central bore thereof.

FIG. 30 depicts a saw tooth holder 612 which is a slight variant of theholder 512 depicted in FIGS. 28 to 29. The saw tooth holder 612similarly receives a saw tooth 1410 for fastening thereto, however theseating surfaces 624 are configured slightly differently such that theentire cutting face is abutted against and within the saw tooth holder612 when fastened thereto. Accordingly, greater contact between theinner cutting face approximate the holder and the seating surfaces 624exists. Thus, no separate adapter portion is provided as the seatingsurfaces of the holder 612 are shaped and configured such as to snuglyreceive the saw tooth therein.

FIGS. 31 and 32 depict another alternate embodiment of the presentinvention, particularly comprising a saw tooth assembly 1511 whichincludes a saw tooth 1510 and its associated saw tooth holder 1512.Although not shown, a suitable fastener such as a bolt previouslydescribed may be used to removably fasten the saw tooth 1510 to itsholder 1512 via a suitable adapter 1514. The saw tooth 1510 isreversible includes opposed first and second cutting faces 1526 and 1528respectively. In contrast to the majority of the above-described sawteeth however, the saw tooth 1510 comprises a substantially cylindricalconfiguration with the first and second cutting faces disposed at eitherend thereof. Each of the first and second cutting faces 1526, 1528 thusdefines a single, substantially circular, and continuous cutting edge1534 which extends about the full periphery of each of the cuttingfaces. The saw tooth 1510 remains reversible, in that when all or aportion of the single continuous cutting edge 1534 on the exposedcutting face is worn, damaged or wished to be replaced, the entire sawtooth 1510 may be disengaged from the holder 1512 and inverted such thatthe other of the first and second cutting faces (previously inwardlyfacing towards the holder) is now exposed and positioned in an outeroperable cutting position when the saw tooth is replaced back on theholder. Further, much as the above-described saw teeth can be rotated upto four times such as to expose a different one of the four cuttingedges in an operative cutting position, the saw tooth 1510, given itscircular configuration, can be rotated almost an infinite number oftimes about its central axis extending through the through or centralbore 1538 thereof such as to expose a different portion of thecontinuous circular cutting edge 1534 in a position relative to theholder which performs the majority of the cutting action. Thus, as eacharcuate portion of the cutting edge 1534 is worn, the tooth may beslightly rotated such as to expose the next circumferentially adjacentarcuate portion of the same cutting edge 1534 in the operable or mosteffective cutting location relative to the holder. This procedure canthus be repeated until such time as the cutting edge 1534 has been wornabout its full circumference, at which point the whole saw tooth 1510can then be inverted as described previously such as to dispose thecircular cutting edge on the other cutting face for use. Each of thefirst and second cutting faces 1528 and 1526 includes a substantiallycurved inner surface 1536 which extends radially inward from the outercutting edge 1534 towards the central bore 1538. A central annularsubstantially flat portion 1543 of the inner surfaces of the cuttingface may also be provided about the central bore 1538.

All of above-described tooth holders, whether integrated into the sawdisk or mounted thereon, may be configured such that they accept (i.e.are able to have removably mounted thereto) either a reversible ordouble-sided saw tooth as described herein or a standard (i.e.single-sided) saw tooth having only a single cutting face thereon forfastening thereto. Accordingly, the seating surfaces of the saw toothholder to which the saw teeth are mounted may be configured such that astandard single-cutting face saw tooth may be abutted directlythereagainst and fastened in place to the holder, while a reversible sawtooth as described above may also be fastened thereagainst, whetherusing an intermediate adaptor or not.

In at least one such embodiment, a tooth holder 712 as depicted in FIG.33 is so configured to be able to accept either a standard (i.e.one-sided) saw tooth or a reversible saw tooth as described above. Thesaw tooth holder 712 includes a step 727 disposed at the inner end ofthe seat surface 724 at the junction of the seat surface 25 which may beperpendicularly disposed relative to the surface 724, and which togetherdefine an opening therebetween within which the saw tooth is receivedfor fastening to the holder. This step 727 extends the full width of theopening defined between these perpendicular surfaces 724 and 725. Asnoted above, while these seats 724,725 on the holder 712 are disposed intwo perpendicular planes, these may each be respectively inclinedrelative to a radial and tangential axis of the circular saw disk towhich the holder 712 is mounted, which may in a particular embodimentcorrespond to the radial and tangential axis of the holder when in use,such as to create a slight forward kerf clearance for the cutting edgesof the tooth. In at least one embodiment, however, the radially outersurface 729 of the step 727 may also inclined relative to the seatingsurface 725, such as to permit the retro-fit of a standard (i.e. onesided) saw tooth which may have an overall tapered configuration (i.e.truncated pyramidal shape) between a base end thereof and the opposedcutting face. The step 727 thus permits the inner cutting edges of thestandard saw tooth to clear (preferably without touching) the seatingsurface 725 without interference being caused therebetween. Thus, theoutwardly inclined angle of attack (i.e. a forward clearance attackangle of between about 0 and 5 degrees for example) may thus bemaintained for a standard tooth when used with the holder 712 which canalso accommodate reversible saw teeth of the present invention. Whensuch a reversible saw tooth is to be mounted to the holder 712, acorresponding adapted may be employed which has at least a portionthereof which is shaped and configured to complement and correspond tothe step 727, such that a rear surface of the holder may neverthelessabut the rear seating surface 724 of the holder, without the step 727interfering with this abutment. This may include, for example, a cut-outregion corresponding to the step 727, taper side walls corresponding tothe inclination (if any) of the step 727 relative to the twoperpendicular seating surfaces, etc. For example, the adaptor employedmay have a reverse taper thereon at a rearward end thereof, which isadapted to abut the inclined step 727, and forward portion which isconfigured for mating with both of the opposed cutting faces of the sawtooth in question. The adapter may also be stepped itself, having afirst side wall portion which is adapted to sit on the step 727 of theholder, and another side wall portion which is adapted to overly thebase seating surface 725. It is understood that regardless, the rearface of the adapter is configured to abut against the rear seatingsurface 724 of the holder, and includes a bore therethrough as necessaryfor the attachment of the saw tooth and adapter to the holder. It isalso to be understood that the step 727 may also be 90 degrees relativeto each of the seating surfaces 725 and 724 (i.e. the step is notinclined).

Referring now to FIG. 34, the saw tooth assembly 1611 in accordance withyet another embodiment is depicted. The saw tooth assembly 1611 includesa saw tooth holder 1612, an adapter 1614 and a saw tooth 10 aspreviously described. Of course, any of the other reversible saw teethdescribed hereinabove may similarly be used with the adapter 1614 andthe holder 1612 of this embodiment. The saw tooth assembly 1611 differsfrom those above in that the adapter 1614 includes, on a side thereofoppose a forward face 1648 which is configured and complementary to thecutting faces 26 and 28 of the saw tooth 10, a rear shank 1647 which isdisposed about the central bore 1650 extending through the adapter 1614,and protrudes rearwardly from a main rear surface 1646 of the adapterwhich is adapted to abut the seating surface 1624 of the holder. Thecentral shank 1647 is thus adapted to extend into and be received withina corresponding opening 1621 defined within the holder 1612. The shank1647 of the holder 1614 may be cylindrical, square or rectangular incross-sectional shape, or may be similarly define any number of otherpolygonal cross-sectional shapes, both regular and irregular. The holder1614 having such a shank 1647 provides improved strength to the overallassembly, thereby reducing the likelihood of the fastener 13 whichretains the assembly together to bend or break in the event that the sawtooth and/or the entire saw disk to which the holder is mounted, strikesa rock or another hard object which can cause damage to the saw toothassemblies of the rotary cutting machine's saw disk. Further, thisconfiguration readily permits the reversible saw tooth 10 and theassociated adapter 1614 to be removed, if desired, from the holder 1612and replaced with a standard (i.e. a single-sided saw tooth having onlyone cutting face) saw tooth, which includes on a rear surface thereon ashank portion similar to the shank 1647 of the adapter 1614 for receiptwithin the corresponding opening 1621 of the holder 1612.

Although the saw teeth described above include opposed cutting faceswhich each include at least two cutting edges thereon (in most of theabove described embodiments, for example, each cutting faces includesfour cutting edges thereon). Although at least more than two cuttingedges are provided on each cutting face of the present invention (forthe embodiment of FIG. 32, the continuous circular cutting edges isconsidered to include a plurality of cutting portions about the fullcircumference thereof, and thus comprising more than a single cuttingedge portion), it is to be understood that any number of cutting edgesmay be provided on each of the two cutting faces. For example, thecutting faces of the saw tooth may comprise an octagonal shape (wherein8 cutting edges are defined on each of the two cutting faces), ahexagonal shape (where 6 cutting edges are defined on each of the twocutting faces), a pentagonal shape (where 5 cutting edges are providedon each of the two cutting faces), etc. Further, the cutting faces maybe provided with non-regular polygonal shape, for example may comprise arectangular shape (i.e. having four cutting edges on each of two opposedcutting faces). It is understood that in this embodiment, when the sawteeth are rotated about 180 degrees (i.e. about their central axes),they will remain in the same relative position with respect to theholder, however if they are rotated by 90 degrees they may protrude moreor less (depending on the starting point) relative to the holder. Muchas described above, regardless of the shape and configuration of thecutting face, the saw tooth remains invertible such as to expose theopposite cutting face and locate the cutting edges thereon in anoperable cutting position.

The embodiments of the invention described above are intended to beexemplary. Those skilled in the art will therefore appreciate that theforgoing description is illustrative only, and that various alternativesand modifications can be devised without departing from the spirit ofthe present invention. Accordingly, the present is intended to embraceall such alternatives, modifications and variances which fall within thescope of the appended claims.

1. A cutting tooth assembly for a rotary cutting machine, the cuttingtooth assembly comprising: a tooth holder adapted for mounting about theperiphery of a rotating element of the rotary cutting machine; and areversible cutting tooth, removably mounted to said tooth holder, saidcutting tooth having opposed first and second cutting faces respectivelydisposed on oppositely facing front and rear sides of the tooth, thefirst and second cutting faces being spaced apart along a central toothaxis extending between the first and second cutting faces on the frontand rear sides, each of said first and second cutting faces at leastpartially defining more than two cutting edges, said cutting tooth beingreversible by 180 degrees about a transverse tooth axis, transverse tothe central tooth axis, to thereby dispose a selected one of said firstand second cutting faces in an operable cutting position when mounted tosaid tooth holder.
 2. The cutting tooth assembly as defined in claim 1,further comprising an adapter, intermediately mounted between said toothholder and said cutting tooth.
 3. The cutting tooth assembly as definedin claim 2, wherein said adapter includes a rear face and a front face,said rear face abutting a corresponding surface of said tooth holder andsaid front face being configured to correspond to either of said firstand second cutting faces of said cutting tooth for mating contacttherewith.
 4. The cutting tooth assembly as defined in claim 3, whereinat least a portion of said rear face of said adapter and saidcorresponding surface of said tooth holder are substantially planar. 5.The cutting tooth assembly as defined in claim 4, wherein the adapterincludes a shank portion rearwardly protruding from said planar rearface thereof, the shank portion being received within a correspondingopening defined in said corresponding surface of said tooth holderagainst which said planar rear face of the adapters abuts.
 6. Thecutting tooth assembly as defined in claim 1, further comprising afastening element for removably fastening said cutting tooth to saidtooth holder.
 7. The cutting tooth assembly as defined in claim 6,wherein an aperture extends through said cutting tooth between saidfirst and second cutting faces, said aperture receiving said fasteningelement therein.
 8. The cutting tooth assembly as defined in claim 1,wherein each of said first and second cutting faces define at least fourcutting edges about a periphery thereof.
 9. The cutting tooth assemblyas defined in claim 8, wherein said four cutting edges are substantiallyequally spaced about said periphery of said first and second cuttingfaces.
 10. The cutting tooth assembly as defined in claim 1, whereinsaid tooth holder includes a body portion having two surfaces definingan opening therebetween within which said cutting tooth is received. 11.The cutting tooth assembly as defined in claim 10, wherein said twoabutting surfaces are substantially perpendicular to each other.
 12. Thecutting tooth assembly as defined in claim 1, wherein said opposed firstand second cutting faces are spaced apart by side faces extendingtherebetween, each of said side faces being parallel to the centraltooth axis extending between said first and second cutting faces. 13.The cutting tooth assembly as defined in claim 12, wherein said centraltooth axis is substantially normal to a reference plane, each of saidside faces defining a face plane which is substantially perpendicular tosaid reference plane.
 14. The cutting tooth assembly as defined in claim13, wherein said side faces include at least four major faces which eachhave a perimeter thereabout defining a planar shape in said face plane,said planar shape being substantially similar for each of said four sidefaces.
 15. The cutting tooth assembly as defined in claim 8, whereinsaid cutting tooth is selectively mounted on said tooth holder in anyone of eight different positions, each said position providing adifferent cutting edge in an operable cutting position relative to thetooth holder.
 16. The cutting tooth assembly as defined in claim 1,wherein the transverse tooth axis is substantially perpendicular to thecentral tooth axis extending between said first and second cuttingfaces.
 17. A cutting tooth assembly for a rotary cutting machine,comprising: a cutting tooth removably fastenable to a tooth holder of arotary cutting machine and an adapter for mounting intermediatelybetween said cutting tooth and said tooth holder, said cutting toothhaving opposed first and second cutting faces respectively disposed onoppositely facing front and rear sides of the cutting tooth, the firstand second cutting faces being spaced apart along a central tooth axisextending between the first and second cutting faces on the front andrear sides, each of said first and second cutting faces at leastpartially defining more than two cutting edges, said cutting tooth beingreversible by 180 degrees about a transverse tooth axis to therebydispose a selected one of said first and second cutting faces in anoperable cutting position when mounted to said tooth holder.
 18. Thecutting tooth assembly as defined in claim 17, wherein the transversetooth axis is substantially perpendicular to the central tooth axisextending between said first and second cutting faces.
 19. The cuttingtooth assembly as defined in claim 17, wherein said adapter includes arear face and a front face, said rear face being adapted to abut acorresponding surface of the tooth holder and said front face beingconfigured to correspond to said first and second cutting faces of saidcutting tooth for mating contact therewith.
 20. The cutting toothassembly as defined in claim 19, wherein the adapter includes a shankportion rearwardly protruding from said rear face thereof, the shankportion being received within a corresponding opening defined in saidcorresponding surface of said tooth holder against which said rear faceof the adapters abuts.
 21. The cutting tooth assembly as defined inclaim 17, wherein each of said first and second cutting faces definefour cutting edges thereon.
 22. The cutting tooth assembly as defined inclaim 17, wherein said four cutting edges are substantially equallyspaced about a periphery of each of said first and second cutting faces.23. A cutting tooth assembly for a rotary cutting machine comprising: atooth holder for mounting on the periphery of a circular rotatingelement of the rotary cutting machine, the tooth holder having alongitudinal axis extending substantially tangential to the periphery ofthe circular rotating element when the tooth holder is mounted thereon;a reversible cutting tooth, removably mounted to said tooth holder, thecutting tooth having opposed first and second cutting faces respectivelydisposed on oppositely facing front and rear sides of the cutting tooth,the first and second cutting faces being spaced apart along a centraltooth axis extending between the first and second cutting faces on thefront and rear sides, each of said first and second cutting faces atleast partially defining more than two cutting edges, said cutting toothbeing reversible by 180 degrees about a transverse tooth axis to therebydispose a selected one of said first and second cutting faces in anoperable cutting position when mounted to said tooth holder; and thetooth holder including a seat for receiving the reversible cuttingtooth, wherein the central axis of the cutting tooth is disposed at anangle relative to the longitudinal axis of the holder.
 24. The cuttingtooth assembly as defined in claim 23, wherein the transverse tooth axisis substantially perpendicular to the central tooth axis extendingbetween said first and second cutting faces.
 25. The cutting toothassembly of claim 23, wherein said angle is between zero and about 25degrees.
 26. The cutting tooth assembly of claim 23, wherein said angleis less than 5 degrees.
 27. The cutting tooth assembly of claim 26,wherein said angle is about 2 degrees.
 28. The cutting tooth assembly ofclaim 23, wherein the seat of the tooth holder has a first component anda second component substantially perpendicular to each other, whereinthe first component of the seat acts at least to seat the cutting toothwhile the second component acts at least to prevent the cutting toothfrom rotating about its central axis.
 29. The cutting tooth assembly ofclaim 28, wherein the first component of the seat comprises a front facebeing configured to correspond to either said first and second cuttingfaces of said cutting tooth for mating contact therewith.
 30. Thecutting tooth assembly of claim 28, wherein the first component of theseat bears a majority of the load which is transferred from the cuttingtooth to the tooth holder.
 31. The cutting tooth assembly of claim 28,wherein an adapter is disposed intermediate the cutting tooth and atleast the first component of the seat to permit the cutting tooth to beplaced on the seat in one attitude or in the reverse attitude.